Typhoon Wipha hits Tokyo area, killing at least 18

By Yoko Wakatsuki, Junko Ogura and Katie Hunt, CNN

Updated 0459 GMT (1159 HKT) October 17, 2013

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Island hard hit – Rescue workers look for survivors as they stand on the rubble of a house buried by mudslides after a powerful typhoon hit Oshima island, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Tokyo on Wednesday.

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House crushed – Houses were crushed and roads blocked, killing at least 17.

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Landslides – A woman looks at devastation caused by a landslide.

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High winds – People in Tokyo rush to avoid heavy rainfall and strong winds.

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Typhoon rubble – Rocks from a landslide down an electric pole outside a house in suburban Tokyo.

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Commuters caught – Tokyo commuters struggle to get to work.

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Strongest in a decade – Typhoon Wipha, the 'strongest in 10 years', passed close to Tokyo on Wednesday

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Story highlights

18 people have died, 44 missing after Typhoon Wipha hits the Tokyo area

Oshima, a small island south of Tokyo, has been hardest hit

More than 500 domestic and international flights were canceled

The typhoon is moving north along the Pacific coast of Japan

At least 18 people have died and 44 people are missing after Typhoon Wipha pummeled the Tokyo area on Wednesday.

The majority died after heavy rain triggered flooding and landslides that blocked roads and crushed houses in Oshima, a small island 120 km (75 miles) south of Tokyo, a local official said.

One woman died in the Tokyo metropolitan area but the capital was largely spared significant damage.

Forty one people were still missing on the offshore island as of Thursday morning local time.

More than 500 domestic and international flights were canceled at Tokyo's Narita and Haneda airports and the national rail operator halted bullet train services in central and northern Japan.

The typhoon moved north along the Pacific coast of Japan and was expected to reach the northernmost island of Hokkaido by late Wednesday.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the main electricity supplier in Tokyo and central Japan, said blackouts affected more than 56,000 households.

TEPCO, which has been struggling to deal with a series of leaks at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, said workers at the plant were "on vigil" and accumulated rainwater had been released from storage tanks.